


and they were airpods (oh my god they were airpods)

by gothamnight



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drug Use, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:02:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18428339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothamnight/pseuds/gothamnight
Summary: If there was one unwritten rule, it was to not fall for your roommate. Jason thought that was going to be hard because Tim is the cutest guy he's ever laid his eyes on, until he finds out that Tim is also the worst roommate in the world.Or: AirPods, Lego Bricks, and Fake Dating all in one.





	and they were airpods (oh my god they were airpods)

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a long Authors Note, buckle up (but u don't need to read it if you don't want to)
> 
> This fic is based off this [ tweet](https://twitter.com/quinnytls/status/1104352209087561729). 
> 
> I dont have wifi right now. It broke in my flat and i’m leeching off the uni wifi. I had nothing to do so I wrote a fic but because I also had no wifi I had no means to research things mostly about college in the US so i filled in gaps w just what I know from my own experience from where I live.
> 
> It's a rather long one-shot (for me) but I didnt want to split it up so... here we go.
> 
> And lastly, jsyk Bruce never adopted Dick, Jason or Tim in this fic. The only kids he has are Damian and Cass!

It didn’t start out badly.

When Jason opened the door to his new dorm, he didn’t actually expect much. He just hoped, he’d get along with his roommate. They didn’t need to be best friends or something but he prayed for the guy to at least not to be annoying.

Yeah, it didn’t start out badly. It started out rather good actually. That, of course, depends on how you see it. If you think being attracted to your roommate as a bad thing, it was a bad thing. Jason’s mind sent _red flags_ and he should’ve caught on them.

"Hi," the boy standing in front of him said. The rather cute boy.

Jason didn’t even say anything at first, he just stared. The guy was shorter than him, even more so than an entire head probably, had black hair, with strands falling to the sides of his face, framing it. His face was cute, there was no way around it. Big bright blue eyes with long lashes, a cute delicate nose, pink lips that Jason stared at a second too long.

"Uh, hi," he finally said.

"I’m Tim. Drake." The boy extended his hand and Jason took it.

"Jason," he introduced himself. "Are you a freshman?"

Tim nodded and tugged a strand of his hair behind his ear. Jason shouldn’t be so attracted to him. He didn’t believe in love at first sight, and this wasn’t it, but he was undoubtedly attracted to his new roommate.

"Yeah," Tim replied. "Computer science major. You?"

"English. I’m a junior," Jason said and pressed his lips together. Tim’s side of the room was really messy, but he guessed it was because he just moved in. The guy was standing in between boxes, some of them open, some not.

"Sorry for the mess," Tim apologized, even offered Jason a crooked smile. Oh god, he was so cute and Jason cursed the gods that he made him his roommate because if there was one unwritten rule pretty much everyone who lived with someone agreed upon was, that you do not fall for your roommate. Later, he’d come to realize he should’ve cursed the gods for other reasons.

"Don’t worry," Jason quickly said and smiled. "The guy who lived here before was way messier."

Tim chuckled. "Really? Kinda doubt that, but it’s nice to know."

"Art major," Jason explained. "Left his paint around all the time. I hate the smell of paint too, but he was cool." Kyle had been his former roommate’s name. They were still friends.

"I hope we can get along then too," Tim said and now his slightly crooked smile turned into a wide genuine smile, with his beautiful light eyes looking right into Jason’s.

Jason blinked. Yeah, he was definitely going to daydream about Tim’s baby blue eyes. "Of course. Sure," he stuttered out. "Do you maybe need help?"

"No, thank you."

Jason stared around awkwardly. The room wasn’t big, so he’d just get into the way of the process of moving in. "I’ll get going then."

"You don’t need to leave because of me!" Tim quickly said.

"It’s okay," Jason assured him. "We can get to know each other some other time. We have plenty of time." _Screw good ideas_ , he thought. If he was attracted to his roommate, so be it. There was probably no chance Tim was interested in him as well, but Jason had to take the chance. You don’t walk into a guy as cute as Tim Drake every day of your life, right?

* * *

 

"I’m telling you," Jason said with a low voice. "He’s by far the cutest guy I’ve ever seen."

"You’re exaggerating now," Roy said and narrowed his eyes. " _Cutest_? Really?"

Jason nodded. "Yes."

"Jason. Not falling for roommates," Roy said.

Jason groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "But—"

"No matter how cute! It’s an unwritten rule, dude."

Jason nibbled on his lower lip. It was only because Roy hadn’t seen Tim yet. Jason was sure Tim wasn’t even Roy’s type but once the redhead would _see_ Tim, he’d understand. Fine, he’d probably not be as interested in him as Jason was, considering Roy already had a boyfriend who didn’t look like Tim at all except for the blue eyes and black hair, but you had to be blind to not think Tim was beautiful.

"Knock it out of your head," Roy said. "I’ve never heard of a story ending well when roommates start dating. Trust me, I speak from experience. I haven’t heard of Jade ever since we broke up and she stormed out of our flat. Or think about how Kory and Jess broke up if you need more examples. I can actually go on."

"Oh yeah? How about…" Jason tried to think about any good example. "How about…"

"Yeah? I’m listening?" Roy raised his eyebrows.

Jason glared at Roy and his friend knew he was right and won. "Shut up." He sighed. "It doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if he swings that way." He waved his hand around.

"Good," Roy said. "Don’t forget. Me and Jade. Kory and Jess. Rose and Eddie."

"Okay, okay, I got your point!"

Really, Roy should meet Tim first.

* * *

 

Jason noticed very quickly that Tim was a rich boy.

To be fair, most people were rich in Jason’s eyes. He had always been poor after his parents died he merely managed to survive on the streets before he was taken in by several foster families. He used to a little bit of a trouble maker, always running away from them, but it was around High School when he cleaned up his act and somehow managed to get a scholarship. Or else, he wouldn’t even go to college.

So yeah, Jason was poor. He had no family to provide for him or anything like that and was a barkeeper at a place near campus, so Tim just being slightly above poor was already rich for Jason.

He noticed it first when he was cursing under his breath as he tried to untangle his headphones. They were really a pain in the ass, one side even broken but the other still worked so Jason didn’t see the need to buy new ones.

The door to their shared placed opened and Jason looked up to meet Tim’s eyes.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi."

Jason looked down at his hands that were hopelessly trying to untangle the mess. He smiled and looked up at Tim again. "They’re such a pain in the ass, aren’t they?" he tried to start a normal conversation, they could both complain about how much headphones sucked but Tim just blinked.

"I… guess," he said.

That was when Jason noticed that Tim was one of those people. With those people, he meant the ones that parade around wearing fucking _AirPods_. AirPods! Jason couldn’t believe his roommate slash slight crush belonged to the specimen that owned a pair of AirPods.

Jason didn’t know what to say so he dropped it.

So Tim was a rich boy.

* * *

 

Jason didn’t like rich boys.

Tim wasn’t around often but neither was Jason. He was busy most of the time, between classes, studying at the library because he preferred it there, his part-time job that made him stay up late at night, the only time he was back in their room was when he slept.

Jason saw Tim on campus sometimes. They smiled at and greeted each other but when Jason noticed the type of company Tim had with him, his smile dropped.

"Dude," Jason whispered to Roy. "I think Tim’s a frat boy."

"What makes you think that? The fact that he really always walks around with a bunch of frat boys?" Roy teased him.

"I mean… a frat boy. Not just some weird ass dudes who throw parties and drink too much beer and are way too loud," Jason said. "That one guy— Dudley. He belongs to Alpha Kappa Pi."

Roy blew a strand of his red hair out of his face. "I should cut my hair," he murmured. "And Jason, that literally tells me nothing. I don’t know shit about frats because I don’t care about the rich."

(Roy never talked about how he was taken in by Oliver Queen when he was younger, another rich guy.)

"Yeah, I know them only because one of them was the guy whose face I punched in like half a year ago," Jason said. "They’re one of those rich frat guys. You know, the ones whose daddies are paying their entire way to college, their frat is one of those you can only get in when your parents were members as well, and they’re the kind of guys who wear designer clothes and scoff at people who don’t have AirPods—"

"Jason."

"You know! That guy, you remember him? Dudley? He harassed a girl at the bar and I punched him and he demanded to speak to my boss and then threatened to call his lawyer upon me!" Jason cried out. "He’s one of _them_."

Roy looked at him. "Is it that bad?"

"Dude."

"Okay, it is kind of bad," Roy admitted.

Jason shook his head in disbelief. "I can’t fall for a rich guy. Okay, rich guy isn’t that bad. It’s the frat part that makes it bad. No just— that frat. Couldn’t he go to any other frat?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Have they dragged him out of bed at night for some weird ritual yet?"

"I don’t know?" Jason admitted. Jason slept like a rock most of the times or many nights he wasn’t even in his bed.

"Yeah, well. Get yourself another crush," Roy just replied.

* * *

 

Not only was Tim a rich guy that might or might not a future member of Alpha Kappa Pi, he was also a mess.

Jason gave him three weeks. He thought it was because Tim just recently moved in. Jason was pretty much the opposite of messy. A lot of people didn’t believe it at first when they met him but he was. He liked having his side of the room clean. But just because he was tidy, he didn’t expect his roommate to be as well.

Kyle was messy too and Jason was fine with him for years until the older male graduated.

But Tim? There were still boxes around on the ground the younger male never unboxed. He threw his shirts on the floor, as well as pens and one time Jason swore he walked on a Lego brick which hurt like hell. He had no idea why Tim had them lying around anyway but it was too much. Tim forgot to take out the trash. He ate in their room and didn’t clean up. The guy drank way too much coffee.

"He can’t be that bad," Kyle said over the phone.

"He is that bad."

"Worse than me?"

"Worse than you!" Jason confirmed.

Kyle hesitated. They were having a video chat and Kyle was sitting in front of his easel and drawing on a painting. From the little bit that Jason had seen, it was a painting of Kyle’s boyfriend and current roommate, Connor Hawke.

"Who’s messier than an art major?"

"Computer science major."

"Makes sense," Kyle said. "Just tell him it bothers you."

"I can’t!"

"Why not?"

Jason blinked. Why not indeed? He wasn’t exactly scared of saying his opinion and calling people out. But it was his _roommate_. He didn’t want it to get awkward between them. And besides, he was still really fucking pretty. In a way that made Jason afraid he might moan out Tim’s name during one of his dreams, he had sometimes about the other male.

"I can’t," Jason repeated.

"Let me guess, he’s really cute?"

"Roy told you, didn’t he?"

Kyle laughed. "No, actually, it was Donna."

Jason cursed. "How the fuck does Donna know? Oh god, Roy told her, didn’t he? It was either him or Dick. I’m going to kill them."

Kyle shook his head. "No, it was Kory."

Oh. "Well, he is really pretty."

"That’s what Kory said too," Kyle replied. "Well, she told Donna and Donna told me. We’re both very excited and want to know exactly how pretty he is."

Jason swallowed. "He is very but that doesn’t make him any less messy. He should clean up after himself! I don’t know how he’s living!"

Kyle laughed.

"Not funny!"

 

* * *

It didn’t stop.

Once you noticed one thing that bothered you about your roommate, things just kept piling up.

And soon, Jason wasn’t interested in Tim at all anymore. He wasn’t the 'cutest boy he’s ever seen' anymore. He was just a big pain in the ass and not even those big bright blue eyes and those kissable lips could ease Jason’s annoyance.

Tim Drake was the worst roommate in the world.

Jason never saw him around except for when he came home at 4 am after his shift at the bar ended and he just wanted to go to sleep and throw himself in his bed. And then Tim would just still sit on his bed on his laptop, just looking up, saying "hi", and continue to pay attention to his screen.

Wouldn’t be that bad, right? But Tim clicked on the keyboard like a maniac. It was quite literally how Jason imagined people wrote angry mails except it would go on like that for an hour. Or more, Jason actually never knew when Tim would go to bed because any time Jason met him there was conveniently a pot of coffee on Tim’s table. Jason would just fall asleep after an hour but it didn’t make it any less annoying.

 

* * *

 

"He’s not cute," Jason said. "He’s not cute at all."

Rose rolled her eyes and passed him the joint in her hand. Jason accepted it and took a long drag, leaning his head back against the wall.

"I was so stupid. I thought he was cute. I really thought he was like the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen and he was catered exactly to my taste and all he is is the most annoying roommate in the world. And he has _AirPods_."

Rose burst out in laughter. "The fucking AirPods. It’s always the AirPods."

"They were the first thing I noticed!" Jason defended himself.

"I still think he’s cute," Rose said. "If you don’t want him anymore at all, you can hand him over to me."

Jason glared at his friend while taking another drag. The white-haired girl just grinned and shrugged.

"And he has Lego all over the floor," Jason said. "Do you know how much they hurt?!"

"Why does he have that?"

"He’s participating in some contest," Jason said and waved his hand around. "I don’t know. Don’t really care. He’s a fucking nerd. God, I hate nerds."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "I remember a time when you told me he was a nerd and how cute he was when he had glasses on."

"That was before, Rose! Before! Now I’m this close to snap at him. I swear!"

"At least, he didn’t join the frat."

Jason pursed his lips. "Yeah, at least he didn’t do that."

The door opened to his room and Tim was standing there. He was undoubtedly still really handsome but now Jason wasn’t all lovestruck and fascinated by the way he moved his small body or how long his eyelashes were.

"Tim!" Rose said.

"Hey," he greeted the two of them. He scrunched his nose. "You’re smoking weed in the dorms?"

"Nobody cares," Rose said. "You want a drag?"

Tim’s eyes narrowed. His gaze lingered on the joint in Jason’s fingers, then on the position, Rose and Jason were in (on his bed, right next to each other with Rose’ legs sprawled over his lap and her shoulders touching his) and back to Rose. "No thank you," he said with a strained voice, put his backpack on his bed and walked out again.

"Wow," Rose breathed out and took the joint.

"Did you see that?!" Jason shouted. "That was _judgment_ . I don’t want to be judged by him! Mister I’m so fucking rich and my friends are frat bros and I think it’s okay to leave around Lego bricks for my roommate to walk on and have my trash filled to the brim with Starbucks cups because I can’t get myself a reusable cup because I don’t care for the environment but I _can_ afford AirPods!"

Rose stared at him. "Wow," she repeated. "You need more." She put the joint back in his hands. "You need to relax, Jay. I think little Timmy is getting under your skin."

"Yeah, he is," Jason said through gritted teeth. "Ugh, judging me. He never sleeps. I don’t know when he sleeps. I don’t think I ever see him sleep. When I go to bed he’s still awake or not there and when I wake up, he’s gone already. He’s a vampire but not the sexy kind."

Rose snickered.

* * *

 

Jason spread his arms. "Look. It’s just as bad as I told you."

Kory tilted her head and stared at Tim’s side of the room. "It is…"

"You don’t need to be nice, princess."

His friend sighed and looked back to Jason. "He’s worse than Kyle."

"I didn’t know it was possible," Jason admitted.

"Donna told me about how it was when they were dating," Kory said. She sat down on Jason’s bed and patted down to the side next to her. Jason obliged and sat down. "She said he had been pretty bad. This seems worse."

Jason clicked his tongue. "I hate rich boys," Jason said. "I really do hate them. He probably is used to having a housekeeper cleaning up after him."

Kory laughed and threw her head back. Her hair was so long that the ends of her tight red curls touched the bed. "Are you going to mention the AirPods?"

Jason glared at her. "Kory, I’m serious. It’s not about the AirPods. It’s about everything."

Kory sighed. "You need to tell him."

Jason nodded. "Yes," he said. "I do." He had enough of Tim. Stupid Tim.

Kory put her arm around Jason’s shoulder and leaned closer. "I’m sure he’ll understand. I’m sure he’s not that bad."

Jason shrugged and the door to their place opened again. Tim walked in and he looked— bad. Of course, still strikingly attractive (every time Jason was pissed off at Tim (which was always) he’d be even more pissed off when he saw Tim because he was just still so stupidly attractive that Jason wanted to kiss him) but there were dark shadows under his eyes, his skin was pale and his eyes were red. It looked like he just cried.

Kory stood up. "You must be Tim," she said and offered him her hand. "I’ve heard a lot about you."

Tim glanced to Jason and even managed to offer a smile and take her hand. "Yeah, and you’re?"

"Kory," she introduced herself. "And I have to go." She turned to Jason who nodded. He knew she had a date with Donna.

"It was nice to meet you, Tim." Kory leaned down and kissed Jason’s cheek before she left. Jason rubbed his cheek, sure that there might be lipstick sticking on it but when he checked the back of his palm, there was none. Her lipstick was good, he guessed.

"Your girlfriend?" Tim asked.

"Uh? No."

"Oh." Tim nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Are you okay? Sorry but you—"

"Yeah, I’m fine," Tim snarled at him. Jason blinked. Why was he mad now? "I just want to sleep." Tim let himself fall on his bed, not caring that past Tim had just thrown a bunch of clothes on his bed.

"Okay," Jason said, but there was no politeness in his voice. "Fine." He grabbed his wallet and walked out of their room.

Tim was the worst roommate and Jason had tried to be nice and all he got was that. Jason shook his head. He was so going to confront him tomorrow.

* * *

 

It took a while until he did.

First of all, Tim wasn’t around whenever Jason was in their room and he didn’t want to do it over messages. Jason wasn’t a coward. Second of all— no, that was actually it. Tim was nowhere to be seen for the next week. It was like Jason had no roommate but the mess that kept changing in Tim’s room reminded Jason that he did have indeed a roommate.

And when they finally were at their dorm at the same time, Jason had a bad day. It was all going bad. His laptop broke and Jason couldn’t afford another one and the repair costs were too high, and that set his mood off. Then, stupid Zatara mocked him loudly during a class discussion and Jason had been too done with his life at that point to even try to argue back. He knew that if he would, he’d just throw his table on Zatara’s head, he didn’t care that this was Eddie’s boyfriend. And now he was back in his room and just wanted to relax but he couldn’t because Tim’s side of the room was a mess and Tim was on his bed wearing. Fucking _AirPods_.

"Oh my god," Jason breathed out.

Tim looked up and took one of the pods (is that what one of them was called?) out. It was so annoying.

"Can’t you clean up your side of the room?" Jason shouted. "I’m not asking for much! I don’t need you to be super clean, but this is— how long have you lived here now? Two months? Why are the boxes still here? Do you know how many times I’ve stepped on Lego the past two months? And do you know that you can use reusable cups? I’m sure you have the money to buy one, rich kid."

Tim blinked. "What."

"Do I have to repeat myself? I always have to take out your trash! And your food— do you know insects and ants come when you leave it around for too long? Do you even _care_ ? I don’t know what kind of life you lived before but you can’t just live like someone else’s cleaning up after you or that you’re living alone," Jason said. "And now that I’m already getting it off my chest: When the fuck do you sleep? You know how fucking _annoying_ it is when I just want to sleep and you click on your keyboard doing some coding or some shit? You click like a maniac. I know no one else who hits the keys harder than you. I’m surprised they didn’t all fall off yet."

Tim got up from his bed. "So we’re doing this, huh?"

"What the fuck do you mean?"

" _I’m_ the bad roommate?"

"Duh," Jason said. "Look at your place." He gestured around.

"I’m not the one who keeps bringing people over. All the time! You say I’m the one who doesn’t know how to live with someone else? Well, for someone who lived here for a while and had a roommate before, you should know a few rules. You always bring people over, guys, girls, both. When I just want to be here and rest. But I can’t! And you smoke. Inside. Are you out of your mind? And you come back at ungodly hours!"

"What does it matter? You’re never asleep anyway!" Jason shouted.

"Sometimes, I am! And then you just waltz in, not caring how fucking loud you are! You do know you’re like six foot five, right? And you’re kind of huge? You knock around things while I’m trying to sleep and your steps are so heavy. You also listen to music so loudly, I’m sure every other room around us pretty much hates us!"

Jason gasped. He was the bad roommate? What? Kyle never complained. Kyle listened to his music as well. Kyle joined him when he had friends over, Kyle smoked with him. He never minded Jason coming home late because Kyle did it often too (first when he was dating Donna, later when he was dating Connor).

"Fuck you," Jason said. "I tried to be nice."

"I did too!"

"You know what? I can’t do this right now. Let’s just— I don’t know. I’ll request another room," Jason said.

Tim glared at him, his face was red. Jason was sure he was red from the anger boiling inside him as well. "Fine!" Tim shouted.

"I’m leaving!"

"Do it."

Jason grabbed his jacket and ran off.

* * *

  


Dick just recently moved in with Roy. Jason didn’t know the guy that well. As far as Jason knew, he used to be really close with Roy, Donna, and Kory back in their High School days, and used to date Kory back then, moved away and came back years later. He was… all right. He was a cop, and Jason didn’t like cops, but he didn’t seem that bad when he wasn’t trying to be annoying. He was Roy’s boyfriend and Jason just had to deal with that.

"You snapped, huh?" Dick asked.

"Yep," Jason replied and stared down at the cup of tea Dick had brewed them.

Roy grinned. "Good job."

"Good job? It didn’t go at all like how I wanted to!"

"How did you want it to go?" Dick asked.

Jason thought about it. "I dunno. I would’ve… eased him at first. And then slowly… approach the topic. I’m not tactless. I would’ve asked him politely to clean his fucking shit up and get his act together."

"But you didn’t because?"

Jason pressed his lips together. "I had a shitty day. My laptop broke and I can’t afford to fix it. No money. Then Zatara— yes, Eddie’s boyfriend. Seriously, he should just break up with him— mocked me in front of everyone. And then I came home and he was wearing AirPods."

Dick blinked, looked over to Roy with a confused look on his face. "AirPods?"

"AirPods," Roy whispered back and touched his boyfriend’s knee.

"I don’t understand," Dick said.

"They’re the _worst_ ," Jason explained. "I hate them. I hate him. Fucking rich boy. Swimming in his parent’s money. I don’t even know why he didn’t just join the frat. He hung out with them, so why couldn’t he? At least, he would’ve moved out and into their house. I’m sure they would’ve been delighted to take him in with open arms."

He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe months ago, he thought Tim was cute and that there might be a chance between them.

"Wait, what was his name again?" Dick asked.

"Tim."

"No, his last name."

"Drake?"

Dick chocked on his drink and put it down. "Tim Drake? As in Drake Industries?"

"I never googled him, but guess he is rich if his parents own a whole company."

"Yeah, he is, but that’s not the point! I know him!" Dick shouted excitedly. Roy tilted his head.

"You do?"

"Yeah! Do you— Roy, really. Did you forget? During High School, I taught gymnastics sometimes for elementary kids. He was really cute! The young boy, I introduced you to! I liked him out of everyone the best," Dick explained.

Jason scoffed. "He’s cute, right, but that sounds fake."

"He was! He was like ten years old or something, but he was so sweet."

Roy thought about it. "I think I remember," he said. "It was so long ago."

Dick smiled brightly. "Tim was adorable. I was just a teacher first, but then I talked to him. He knew me from—" His voice died down. "He went to the circus when my parents died. He was there that night."

Jason didn’t know what to say. "Oh," he said instead.

"Yeah… Anyway, we got really close. He was like the younger brother I never had, you know? And he was really shy too. A really cute boy, but he had no friends and I noticed how neglect his parents were so I took him under my wing! Even when I moved away, we still exchanged letters!" Dick said. He was talking so fast, all excited about the revelation that the guy Jason loathed was the same guy Dick saw as a younger brother.

"No offense, but he’s not that cute and shy anymore," Jason said.

"I don’t believe you," Dick said. "Tim is polite and sweet. He used to be so nervous and always look at me with big eyes—"

"Babe, you sure he didn’t have a crush on you?" Roy cut in.

Jason raised his eyebrows. "It’s Dick," he said and the redhead rolled his eyes. Of course, Tim probably had a crush on Dick when he was a child.

Dick shook his head. "I refuse to believe you. Let me talk to him! I haven’t seen him in like, five years."

Jason stared at Dick. "You did listen to what I told you, right? He’s not a cute kid anymore. I mean, yeah he’s still annoyingly cute but—"

Dick sighed. "Give me his number."

"Fine, but I warned you."

* * *

 

Jason slept over at their place that night and he begged them to let him stay at least until the semester ended but they both refused to. Even though he offered to clean their entire place! They threw him out after the weekend ended and Jason had to go back to his place.

To his surprise, Tim’s place was all cleaned up. Yes, even his bed was made. And the boxes were gone as well! No Lego bricks he stepped onto either and— Tim had thrown out the trash!

Was this real? His room had never been so clean, even with Kyle living with him.

"It took me some time," Tim’s voice came from behind. Jason turned around and looked at Tim. He looked exhausted but good, wearing a huge red sweater.

"You… you cleaned up," Jason said.

"Yeah." Tim closed the door behind him and tugged his hands in the pockets of his sweater. "I… I thought about what you said. And I, uh. I met up with Dick."

Jason didn’t know Dick had met up with Tim already. He knew he wanted to but he didn’t know they already have. But of course, they’d talk about Jason.

"Small world," was all that Jason managed to say and Tim smiled a little bit even.

"Yeah. He made me realize I was kind of a dick," Tim said. "Uh. Sit down?" He sat down on the chair of his desk and Jason hesitated before he sat down on his. "You were right. I was a shitty roommate. I’m sorry."

Jason watched Tim. He was nervous, Jason noticed, and looking down.

"I don’t know what to say. I swear, I’ll do better now. At least until the end of the  semester, if you still want to move out." He finally looked up and met Jason’s eyes. "I’ll try my best. I won’t leave my food around, and clothes and Lego bricks. A-And I won’t wear AirPods anymore."

Jason stared at Tim and before he knew it, he was laughing. He didn’t even know why, he just did. And soon after, Tim laughed as well.

"Okay," Jason said. "Thank you. And you’re right too. I’m sorry too. I never noticed what I did was shitty. I guess I was too used to Kyle. It’s just— he knew everyone I brought back to this room and joined us, you know? He never minded."

Tim’s smile dropped. "I’m sorry I can’t be him."

"That’s not what I’m saying! It’s my fault," Jason said. "I won’t do it anymore. Smoke here, bring people home, knock things around in the middle of the night because I’m so big, and I will also not listen to music loudly."

Tim smiled again and there it was again. The most beautiful smile Jason had ever seen. Of course, it wasn’t like this one talk suddenly made Jason forget everything that happened between them but it made Tim more bearable.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay," Jason agreed. "I mean, we don’t need to be friends, but yeah. Let’s… not annoy each other anymore."

Tim nodded. "And… by the way, do you— Dick told me about your laptop."

"Huh?"

"I’m good with tech," Tim said. "I could repair it for you."

Jason stared at him. "Isn’t that super expensive? You don’t know how messed up it is."

Tim shrugged. "I owe you."

"I don’t like being indebted in people."

Tim rolled his eyes. "Jason, come on. It’s just a laptop."

"No, name a prize and I’ll pay it. I’m short on money but—"

"Fine," Tim said. "Give me your laptop, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll see what replacements I have to get and then give you a price, okay?"

Jason smiled. "Okay. Thank you. You think you can restore everything?"

"I don’t know how bad it is yet," Tim reminded him.

"Hm. Don’t look at what I got on it though," Jason said and took out his laptop and handed it over to Tim.

"Why? Got some weird furry porn on here?"

Jason laughed and rolled his eyes.

* * *

 

Tim spotted Jason in the library. He was currently studying for finals and spent most of his time there. He didn’t even notice Tim approaching until the male slapped down a flyer on the table. Jason looked up to see Tim standing right next to him.

"Tim?"

"This. Payment," Tim explained.

"What?"

Tim raised the flyer. "It’s a study and they pay you. Twenty bucks."

"You’d repair my laptop for twenty bucks?" Jason asked, surprised. "I could give you twenty bucks right now."

"I’d repair your laptop for free," Tim reminded him and waved the flyer around. "And no. They need people and my best friend is friends with one of the girls."

Jason sighed and took the flyer. He never heard about Tim’s best friend. Or any of his friends. He guessed, they were those frat guys. "Tim. This asks for gay couples."

"Yep."

"Are you even gay?"

"Yep," Tim repeated.

Oh. "I mean… I am too but I don’t have a boyfriend."

Tim sighed. "We’re obviously going to fake date."

"Obviously," Jason repeated.

"It’s just a study. And it’s about how not having sex for a month reflects on your relationship. And since, we’re not actually dating and just pretending to be, it’s not like we’re having sex anyway. It’s easy money and I’m making my friend happy," Tim explained.

Jason narrowed his eyes. He never before really talked much to Tim due to him being first too absent and then too annoying for Jason to have the desire to spark a real conversation with him but now he knew the guy was insane. The coffee must’ve gone to his head. "We’re ruining their results."

Tim pressed his lips together. "They won’t know that."

"Who’s your friend?"

"He doesn’t go to his college," Tim said. "You don’t know him."

Jason breathed out in relief. At least, it wasn’t one of the frat boys. "Okay," he said. "I’m in." Tim smiled brightly.

* * *

 

There were a lot of studies that offered money or a free meal or a coupon but Jason never really had the desire to participate in any of them. But Tim said all they had to do was sign up their name and talk with them a little bit.

"Okay," Jason said. "What’s our cover story?"

"What cover story?" Tim asked.

"How we met, how we got together. How long we’ve been together."

"We met because we’re roommates," Tim said. "We got together because we’re… roommates."

Jason snorted. "Let me guess, we’ve been together for 'because we’re roommates' months?"

Tim huffed and put his hair back into a little pony tail. It was cute. "A month."

"A _month_!" Jason shouted. "We just got together and we’re already joining this study? You sure they’d believe us?"

Tim shrugged. "Not everyone wants to fuck all the time like you."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Jason asked.

Tim tilted his head. "All the people—"

"Wait." Jason stopped. "Did you think I was fucking them all?"

Tim blushed. "I mean, you were always way too close with them."

Jason thought about it. He now realized he should teach his friends about personal space, especially Rose. "Oh," he said. "No, we’re not— we’re all just friends. I could never with them!"

Tim raised his eyebrows.

"Really! Not even with a single one of them! Cross my heart!"

"Ah." Tim nodded.

"Oh god, you really thought I took them all to our place and fucked them and then smoke weed with them. I really do sound like an awful roommate from your perspective."

Tim shrugged. "It’s fine. Even if you do, it’s none of my business. As long as you don’t do it in our room."

Jason laughed. "Trust me, I know of the unwritten rules," he said quickly. "Kyle never was not dating someone."

Tim looked at him oddly before he decided to just let the subject drop. They were called in by a girl with blue and purple hair. When they entered the place, there was another one sitting there. A pretty blond Jason had seen a few times handing around flyers. He guessed they were the ones Tim had practically shoved in his face.

"Hi, I’m Stephanie!" she introduced herself. "And that’s Harper."

"Hey," the purple-haired girl said to them and offered them to sit down. Tim and Jason sat down across them and Stephanie looked at them.

"So, Jason and Tim, right? Cass said you’re friends with Conner." Stephanie turned towards Tim who nodded.

"Yeah, we’re best friends," he replied.

Conner was the guy’s name. "Aw, is it bad to be apart? Isn’t he going to college on the other side of the country?" Stephanie asked.

Tim shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Yeah," he said, "I guess."

Jason cleared his throat.

"Yeah, get to the questions," Harper urged Stephanie. Stephanie stuck out her tongue at her.

"Okay, so how long have you two been together?"

"A month," Jason said. "We’re roommates."

"A month!" Harper shouted, while Stephanie shouted, "roommates!"

Yes, he supposed, both were pretty crazy.

"We just…" Jason looked at Tim. "I know dating your roommate isn’t a good idea but he was just so…" He searched for a word. Maybe if he hadn’t got to know Tim over the past weeks and learned what a horrible roommate he actually was, and he was still just daydreaming about the pretty boy he first met, he would’ve come up with something better, "charming."

Tim stared at him. Jason could read his expression perfectly. _Charming? Really?_

"My girlfriend started out as my roommate too, you know," Stephanie said with a big smile.

"Cass?" Tim asked.

"Yep! I know, everyone around me said 'don’t do it', mainly Harper, but it was a good decision in the end."

Harper shrugged. "I was just trying to be a good friend."

Stephanie smiled at her. "I know. But don’t let everyone discourage you! It’s a lot of risks, but it’s worth it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jason said.

"But a month? Really? You wanna go a whole month without sex after you just got together?" Harper asked.

Jason and Tim exchanged glances.

"Yep," Tim said.

"I mean, you’re not aro or not interested in sex, are you?" Stephanie asked. "That would be important for your profile to know."

"No," Jason said quickly before Tim could say something. "We’re a healthy happy couple that fucks every day."

Tim kicked his leg.

"I mean— not every day. Haha, finals around the corner, right? But like—"

Stephanie scrunched her nose. "Okay, how many times a week?"

Tim was blushing and looked to Jason again.

"Four?" Jason offered.

Stephanie seemed to be satisfied with that. Her and Harper asked a few more questions and at the end, they both gave them another flyer.

"What’s that?" Jason asked.

"We won’t have to talk to you until the next meeting in two weeks and then the last one when the month is over but…" Harper shrugged. "We’re hosting an LGBT party if you wanna join."

"Thank you," Tim said and got up.

"It’d be nice if you’d join," Stephanie said and looked to Tim. "I’d love to get to know more about you! And Cass sure too, she’s going to be there as well."

Tim smiled at her and nodded. They said their goodbyes and stepped out.

"Who’s Conner?" Jason finally asked. "And how does he know Cass?"

" _Kon_ is Cass ex-boyfriend," Tim explained. "They dated for a very short time before Cass realized she is a lesbian. It was a long distance relationship, so I never met her. They’re still friends, as far as I know because their dads are friends."

Jason looked at the flyer of the party. "You wanna go there?"

Tim stared at him. "If you’d go as well, you know they all think we’re a couple, right?"

Jason hesitated. "But you do want to go there, right?"

He had noticed the look in Tim’s eyes. "No," Tim said but Jason didn’t buy it.

* * *

 

"We’re going to the party," Jason said.

He noticed that Tim never really went out. He stopped hanging out with the frat guys, at least, Jason never saw him with them anymore, so he thought Tim could use some fun. Plus, he repaired his laptop with him and managed to restore everything so Jason was pretty grateful.

"But—"

"We don’t have to go full PDA," Jason explained. "Let’s go. I’m sick of staring at my books."

"Okay." Tim smiled and Jason’s heart leaped a little bit. Just a tiny, little bit.

* * *

  


Jason noticed a few things about Tim now that he saw him talking to Stephanie and Cass.

Tim was different with them than with the frat guys. Maybe, he didn’t like them after all. Maybe he really wasn’t one of those annoying rich guys. Now that Jason knew how different Tim could be around people he actually enjoyed their company of, Jason noticed how uncomfortable Tim had always looked before with the Alpha Kappa Pi brothers.

It was good. The look fitted Tim. The light rosy tinted cheeks from the alcohol, the bright eyes that lit up at the things the girls talked about, his smile. He was mesmerizing.

"You’ve been staring at your boyfriend for quite some time," Harper noticed.

Jason quickly tore his eyes off from Tim.

"He sure is lovely, isn’t he?" he joked but Harper just tilted her head.

"Yeah," she said. "He’s cute."

He was. Now that Tim started to actually put an effort in cleaning after himself, and stopped all the other things Jason found so annoying about him, he was quite cute again in Jason’s eyes.

"Be careful before someone else snatches him," Harper joked. It wasn’t like Jason would mind. They weren’t _actually_ dating. "Or that he drinks too much. He seems like a lightweight."

Jason had to agree. "Yeah, I’ll keep an eye to him. I’m sure Cass and Steph will too."

Harper nodded. "Wanna get some drinks?"

"Sure." He shrugged and they got some drinks. Two other guys, one who introduced himself as Duke, and the other as Cullen and Harper’s brother, and a girl whose name was Bette and who was Harper’s girlfriend, joined them. During the whole time, Jason kept stealing glances at Tim.

At some point, Tim decided to go to the dance floor with Stephanie and Cass was a good idea. And Jason really couldn’t stop watching. He was so fucking cute and he— he wasn’t the best dancer but it was the first time Jason ever saw Tim let himself go and have fun. He was having the time of his life on the dance floor and Jason couldn’t help but stare.

"You should go to your boyfriend," Duke said and Harper nudged his side.

"Yeah, I—"

"Come on." Bette took both Harper and Jason’s arms even though her girlfriend complained and told him she wouldn’t dance. She dragged them to the dance floor and once they were there, she pushed Jason towards Tim.

It wasn’t weird, he was Tim’s boyfriend for them after all. But for Jason, it was weird to stand right in front of Tim.

"Hey," he said.

Tim looked up at him. "Hey." He was smiling brightly. He was drunk or at least tipsy. His cheeks were still beautifully flushed, he was sweating and Jason tried to concentrate more on the way his hair stuck to his forehead because of it and less on how his T-Shirt clung to his upper body.

"You wanna da—"

Before Jason could finish the sentence, Tim took his hand and they started to dance. Jason laughed. Tim was ridiculous. He had thought so before all the time but now it was in a good way.

After what seemed to be an eternity on the dance floor in which they both danced, jumped and sang along to every song, a slow song came on and Jason stopped. Should they get off the dance floor? But it was weird, they were a couple. Why would he get off the dance floor because of a slow song?

So, because it made the most sense and also because Jason felt the alcohol getting to his mind and clouding his judgment as well, and because he thought Tim wasn’t just super cute but also incredibly sexy like this, Jason pulled Tim closer to his body.

"Jason—"

"We’re a couple, right, babybird?"

"Babybird?" Tim asked and laughed.

"I like to give my partner a cute nickname," Jason explained and moved to the rhythm. Tim smiled.

"Does it mean I have to come up with one too?"

"No," Jason said. "Just shut up and dance."

"I’m not that drunk," Tim said.

"Sure you’re not, babybird."

"We’re alone, you can drop the nickname," Tim muttered. Jason shivered when he felt Tim’s breath against his ear.

Tim was pretty drunk and he did slip on their way home from the party to their room, making him twist his ankle and not being able to walk which is why Jason was carrying him on his back.

"You can let me down," Tim said.

"You’re really not that heavy," Jason assured. "Really. You weight like nothing. You weight like half of what I use at the gym."

"Wow, boasting," Tim whispered.

Jason laughed. "I’m just saying you should eat more. Less junk food."

Tim huffed. "I don’t like the cafeteria."

"Why not?"

Tim didn’t say anything and Jason sighed. A few minutes more passed until Tim spoke up again. "Thank you," he said. "For coming with me tonight."

"I told you it’s because I didn’t want to look at my books anymore."

"I know, but I think you were just being nice," Tim said. They arrived at their dorms and sneakingly got in. Officially, they weren’t allowed to go around at this time but nobody really cared. You just shouldn’t get caught. Back in their room, they took off their jackets.

"I think," Tim said, "tonight was the first time I actually enjoyed myself."

"What do you mean?"

Tim stared at him and shook his head. "Forget it. I’m starting to sober up and I don’t want to have that conversation then."

Jason noticed the look on Tim’s eyes. "You know," Jason said, "when I told you we didn’t have to be friends? I changed my mind."

"What?"

"I want to be your friend," Jason said quietly. Not more. Maybe more. He wasn’t sure yet. It was hard when you were so attracted to your roommate that you really wanted to just push him down and kiss him but also know he used to be really annoying until recently.

Tim hesitated. "Okay," he said. "I just— it sounds stupid."

"No." Jason gestured for Tim to sit down on his bed, which he did. The clock next to Jason’s bed said it was almost 4 am.

"I don’t really have friends here," Tim said. "I actually don’t like it here at all."

"What about the frat guys?"

Tim made a face. "Do you really think I like them? They followed me around because my great great grandfather is one of the founding members and every male member of my family was a member of them. Every single one. I wouldn’t even have to go through the weird trials and tests, they offered me a spot among them. They kept following me, talking about traditions and tried to change my mind."

"You didn’t," Jason said.

"No. I _hate_ them. They’re all annoying and pricks," Tim said. Jason laughed. "My parents weren’t happy. Frats like those— they ensure your future, you know? You make connections with future politicians, bosses, and all that jazz. I don’t care about that. It’s also the reason why they sent me here."

"What do you mean?"

Tim swallowed hard. "I had friends— I mean, I still have them. I went to a boarding school during Middle and High School. We were the closest friends: Kon, Bart, Cassie, and I. The thing is, we were just school friends but it feels like we were more, you know? We’ve been friends since we were children and we didn’t have parents around, so we were like family for each other. And they all went to the same college on the other side of the country except for me." His voice died down. "And I miss them so much. They have so much fun together without me. I know they don’t want to exclude me but—"

He was fighting back tears and Jason put his arm around Tim.

"I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I thought you were just…"

Tim shrugged. "I guess because I resented this college so much I didn’t make any friends. And you’re right. I am a rich kid. I never knew what it was like to clean up after myself. My parents were always away on business trips and I saw them like once a month when I was lucky. So they had a nanny and housekeeper who did everything for me. And in High School… This sounds so stupid, but I had a personal butler with me."

Jason stared at him. "We’re really nothing alike," he concluded.

Tim laughed. "And you?"

"Well. I always had to look after myself since my parents died." Jason shrugged. "Went to foster families, but I was a trouble kid so I pretty much never accepted them, ran away and pretended I was an adult and could handle everything.

I guess I matured early because of it. Never had someone to clean up after myself and I didn’t want to either. And I get you, with your friends, I mean. I don’t have parents or family, so the friends I made here in college are like family to me as well. I can’t imagine not having them around me anymore."

Tim smiled at Jason. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"I don’t know? Listening to me ramble and whine? Opening up even though I was the worst roommate?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "You didn’t whine. And I was an asshole too. And, according to you, a very _busy_ roommate." He wiggled with his eyebrows and Tim laughed and shoved him lightly at his shoulder.

 _Oh god_ , Jason thought. He wanted to kiss him. He wasn’t even drunk anymore, the walk back and their talk had completely sobered him up.

"Anyway," Jason said. "You have me now. As your friend. And by the looks of it, I think Steph and Cass are too."

"Yeah," Tim smiled. "They invited me to a movie night."

"See?" Jason grinned. "Just too bad you’re entering the friendship with lying to them you’re dating me."

Tim’s smile dropped. "Oh shit."

"We’ll stage a break-up and you can tell them years later that it was all a hoax."

Tim tilted his head. "Well, there are worse lies to tell than being your boyfriend."

Jason took that as a compliment.

* * *

  


Tim sat down across Jason in the cafeteria. They both decided to grab something to eat before they head to Stephanie and Harper. Okay, Jason had decided it and didn’t take a no from Tim because he really needed to eat.

"We have to discuss what we’re telling them," Tim said.

"What do you mean?"

"They’re going to ask us about you know, not having sex for two weeks," Tim said. "What are we supposed to say?"

"It’s a survey. We’d just have to fill in things from a scale from one to ten. I don’t even know why they didn’t just send it out in an online form."

"Jason, stay on topic. Do I cross ten when they ask me if it makes me… I don’t know, stressed out?"

Jason looked at him. "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Tim blushed. "What?"

"So, have you?" Jason raised his eyebrows.

"Not really," Tim admitted with a low voice. "You?"

"Me neither," Jason said.

"So, we can’t really use our past experience," Tim concluded and sighed.

"Just imagine not being able to fuck me and what it makes you feel," Jason said. Tim stared at him with wide eyes.

"Jason— you’re." He shook his head but he was smiling.

"What? It’d make me pretty sad and stressed out. I’m a delight. If there’s a 'does it make you want to just claw the clothes off your partner' box, you should definitely cross yes."

Tim laughed. Jason learned over the past two weeks that he loved making Tim laugh. Yes, he loved seeing him laugh but it was even better to be the one who was making him laugh.

"What? I’m right."

"As long as you do the same for me." Tim tugged his hair behind his ear. Jason remembered the exact moment he saw Tim do it for the first time when they first met each other. He hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from Tim back then and now it was just as bad as the first time. (There had been a few time between those two instances that had made Jason go feral and want to throw something out of the window because those instances had Tim wearing AirPods and revealed them under his hair. Yes, it was still those AirPods.)

"Sure."

"By the way…" Tim hesitated. "Forget it."

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You made me curious, babybird. Spit it out."

"Steph asked me if you wanted to. You know, her and Cass invited you over. For a, uh. Dinner."

Jason knew he was getting really close to those girls, and Duke and Harper as well. "Me?"

"Yeah."

"Just me or Duke and Harper too?"

"Just you. And me."

"A double date," Jason concluded. Tim hesitated again and nodded after some thought.

"Kind of. Like I said, forget it. You don’t need to do it."

"No, I’ll do it," Jason said.

Tim looked up at him with bright eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah. As you said, there are worse lies to tell than being your boyfriend."

* * *

 

"I think I like him," Jason announced.

Kyle stared at him. Then he looked to Connor who shrugged. Then, he looked to the crowd, searching for someone else. Donna was currently taking pictures of the gallery (it was an art exhibition and Kyle was one of the few artists that had their art displayed), Roy was talking to Kyle’s boyfriend and his sort of brother Connor, Dick was who knew where with Kory, Babs was talking to some art critic, and Wally was munching on the snacks.

"You… quite literally wanted to throw him out of the window once," Kyle said. "Like, three weeks ago."

"Four," Jason corrected. "And I meant throwing something out of the window. Not him. Just something."

"It was implied you meant him."

"It wasn’t implied! I’m not a _monster_."

Kyle raised his eyebrows. "Okay. And now you like him. Again."

"Yep."

"You know it sounds crazy, right?"

"Oh, I know."

Kyle sighed and ran his hand through his black hair. "Okay," he breathed out. "Okay. I’m happy for you, I guess. You never liked someone in all the years I’ve known you."

"Thank you. You haven’t known me for that long now anyway." Jason sighed and turned to one of the artworks Kyle had drawn. It was undoubtedly the painting Kyle had done of Connor that he had drawn while they had their video chat in which Jason complained about Tim.

"I want to meet him," Kyle said. "Wanna know which guy is finally twisting your heart. Making you go from loving him to hating him to loving him again."

"I didn’t say love," Jason said and blushed.

Kyle grinned. "It was implied."

"Shut up."

"To you, loverboy." Kyle raised his glass.

* * *

 

Jason was sure he liked Tim. Love was a big word and they weren’t even dating yet (he knew he was being very ambitious by adding the 'yet' in his thoughts) but he liked Tim.

He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t just attractive, cute and so handsome that it made Jason want to never tear his eyes away from him but he was also a really fun person to be around with once you got to know him. He was a nerd, yes, but Jason liked it now (he also knew he claimed it was one of his annoying traits not too long ago), he was incredibly smart and kind. He was snarky and he was just perfect. Okay, he wasn’t perfect, considering their history but he was _Tim_.

And maybe being into your roommate wasn’t that bad. It couldn’t be bad, right? Jason knew Jade and Roy failed but their relationship pretty much had been doomed from the beginning. Yes, he wasn’t going to mention how Jade announced just a while ago that Roy had a one-year-old daughter. And Kory and Jess… Yes, their fall-out had been unfortunate as well but as far as Jason knew, they were friends again. And Kory was happy with Donna now so it couldn’t be that bad, right? And Rose and Eddie were also friends again.

But it couldn’t be bad because Stephanie and Cass were the cutest couple. They moved out of the dorms just a few weeks ago and into a place for themselves. Cass’ adoptive dad was really rich, one of the richest guys in the country and maybe even the world, and their place was very spacious. The kitchen was beautiful as well and he learned that out of the four of them, he was the best cook.

So he did most of it while the girls and Tim watched him and occasionally assisted him.

"I know, we’re the hosts but you’re doing it so well," Stephanie said.

Jason snorted. "Yeah, right."

"We’re going to make it up to you," she assured.

"Tim will," Cass said. "Right?"

Tim blushed hard. He cleared his throat. "Yes."

"After the two weeks," Cass reminded them.

"One and a half," Jason corrected.

"Yes," Tim repeated.

Once dinner was finished and they were all seated at the table and eating, Stephanie talked up. "Okay, I wanna know more," she said. "Tim told me a bit but I’m still curious. You’re both so different."

"What do you mean?"

Stephanie shrugged. "You and your tattoos and leather jackets and Tim’s a nerd."

"Hey!" Tim said.

"A pretty cute nerd," Cass offered and Stephanie nodded in agreement.

"I don’t have that many tattoos," Jason said. "And you’re both very different too. Same with Harper and Bette."

"I guess opposites do attract," Tim joked.

"But I’m curious now. What exactly did Tim say?" Jason grinned and looked over to Tim.

"No—"

Stephanie smirked. "Oh, he was a bit tipsy. We watched a movie and drank some wine, you know."

"Stephanie, I’ll kill you," Tim warned her.

"He talked about your thighs," Cass said.

Tim blushed hard and hid his face in his palms. Jason raised his eyebrows and leaned back.

"Oh?"

"I plead the fifth."

"Anything else he said?"

"Voice," Cass added after a long pause.

"Cass!" Tim cried out.

"Why are you so embarrassed? You’re together now anyway," Stephanie said. Jason nodded.

"Yeah, exactly," he said. "I’d love to hear more about… it later though."

Tim didn’t look him in the eyes for the rest of the dinner.

* * *

  


It was raining pretty bad outside. They said they’d wait it out or call a cab until the rain turned into a storm and it was pretty much impossible to go out in this weather, be it in a car or any other form of transportation.

"It’s okay," Cass said. "You can stay here over the night."

"But—" Tim started.

"Tim, have you seen this place? We have a guest bedroom. Thank you, Bruce Wayne," Stephanie said and signed a cross like she was praying to the lord. Jason laughed.

"We don’t have clothes," Jason said.

Cass looked at them. "Tim can fit in my brother’s clothes," she said.

"Your brother?" Tim asked. "Isn’t he, like, twelve?"

"Thirteen," Cass corrected him.

"And you’re about the same height and size," Stephanie confirmed. "Except Damian’s way worse. He’s a brat. I don’t like him." She shuddered by just the thought of Cass younger brother.

"I don’t like the fact that I’m the height and size of a thirteen-year-old," Tim muttered.

"You’re just pocket-size," Jason said. "What about me?"

Stephanie shrugged. "Sleep naked, I don’t care."

* * *

  


It was the infamous 'oh my god, there’s only one bed' situation. Jason had seen this place. He knew they had more than one guest bedroom (it was two and the other room had two beds) but he couldn’t ask Stephanie and Cass for another bedroom because it only had one bed when they thought they were a couple.

Jason and Tim stared at each other. They had both showered and got ready for bed. Tim was wearing a dark blue pajama that apparently belonged to Cass younger brother. She told them that he liked to spend his time here often whenever he was pissed off at their father. Stephanie claimed that it was often and that she was annoyed by it but judging by the smile on her face, Jason guessed she didn’t actually mind that much.

"Are you a cuddler?" Jason asked. Tim didn’t reply. "I take that as a yes?"

Tim breathed in and closed his eyes. "Yeah," he confessed.

"Oh."

"I don’t want to. It just happens. Kon says it’s because I’m used to sleeping in a big bed alone but I don’t think that’s the reason why."

"Sounds stupid."

"He also says it’s because I used to sleep until I was thirteen with a giant teddy bear that was about the size of a six-year-old child."

Jason laughed. "That makes more sense. Did it have a name?"

Tim’s lips thinned. "Paddington."

"Oh my god. You’re _adorable_."

Tim blushed slightly. "Let’s just go to bed." He crawled under the blanket and Jason joined him. Tim turned off the light and they just lied next to each other, listening to the heavy storm and rain outside.

Jason tried not to breathe too heavily. It was stupid. They slept in the same room almost every day and now that there was just a little bit less distance between them, he was so nervous. He felt like Tim could hear his heartbeat.

"I can’t sleep," Tim said and broke the silence between them. "I’m not used to going to bed at this time. Way too early."

"We can talk," Jason suggested.

"About what?"

"I don’t know. The fact that tipsy you has a lot to say about my thighs and my voice."

Tim let out a small cry. "No. Everything but that."

"Was any of it the truth?"

"Jason, have you heard yourself and looked in the mirror?"

Jason shrugged. "That could mean yes but that could also be the biggest insult I’ve ever got in my life and trust me, I’ve been insulted a lot."

Tim turned to him and in the darkness, Jason could still see his face from the light that came from under the door into their room. "Yes," he whispered.

Jason swallowed hard. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you’re a really cute nerd too."

"Yeah?"

Jason hummed. "Yeah. And I think… I think I want to kiss you."

Tim breathed in. "Okay."

"Okay? Is that like a yes? An enthusiastic yes?"

Tim laughed and put his hand on Jason’s naked shoulder. He pulled himself closer to Jason’s body until he was so close to him, his face only a few inches away. "What counts as an enthusiastic yes? Hell yes?"

Jason grinned and braced his hand on Tim’s lower back. "Yeah, I think that will do," he said before he leaned in and kissed Tim.

Finally.

After months of going through the different states of wanting to kiss Tim (first, because he was cute, then because he was so frustrating but still so very cute and hot that Jason wanted to have an angry make out session with him, and now because he wasn’t just cute but because Jason’s heart beat faster when he saw Tim and he wanted to touch him so badly, wanted to kiss Tim and wanted Tim to kiss him just as much), he finally was kissing him.

He tasted like the strawberry toothpaste Cass used and his lips were a bit chapped. But it was so very sweet, not just because of the toothpaste of course. And god, did Jason want more.

But before he could, Tim pulled back.

"That bad?" Jason asked.

"No," Tim said quickly. His eyes searched Jason’s like he was trying to read him. "I liked it. Very much."

"Me too," Jason said. "I also… uh, like you. Very much."

Tim smiled brightly. "I like you too. Very much."

Jason laughed quietly. "And I think I want to kiss you again. Very much."

"Do we really have to add 'very much' to everything?" Tim asked.

"You started it."

Tim giggled and kissed him again. This time, he came even closer to Jason’s body. He pulled Jason on top of him until Jason’s weight was completely on him. He was scared of breaking Tim but the boy didn’t seem to mind. He was more focused on getting his tongue in Jason’s mouth, he guessed, and tangling his fingers in Jason’s hair, while roaming with the other hand over Jason’s bare back.

Jason didn’t expect Tim to be so forward but he didn’t mind. He kissed him back with the same passion. It’s been a while since Jason kissed someone, he really had no idea how Tim used to think everyone he brought back to their room was one of his many flings when he didn’t have flings at all. Not that he needed them, this was enough. Tim, pressing Jason body on top of his, his tongue heavy against Jason, and his voice.

Jason touched Tim, ran his hands over the side of Tim’s body, to his legs which he lifted up to let Tim wrap them around his waist. He lowered himself more and moved his kisses away from Tim’s lips. Tim tilted his head, slightly extending his neck as Jason left a trail of kisses there. From his jaw, over to his neck, to his shoulder. Jason’s hand moved under Tim’s shirt, touched the boy’s lower stomach. Tim was tense but when Jason bit into the spot between his neck and shoulder, Tim left out a quiet moan and relaxed as Jason’s tongue leaped over the spot.

Jason wanted more. He wanted to hear more of those sweet moans and sighs from Tim.

The door opened and Jason and Tim jumped away from each other.

"Woah," Stephanie said.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Jason grunted.

Stephanie was grinning widely. "Sorry. I just wanted to remind you."

"Of?" Tim asked.

"One and a half week," she explained.

Jason blushed. "Did you think we’d fuck in your room? I’m not a horrible guest."

Stephanie leaned against the door frame and looked at them. "From what I saw, it looked like you totally forgot it."

"Don’t worry," Tim quickly said.

"Okay. Good night!" The blond waved at them slightly and closed the door again. Jason let out a deep groan and Tim lied back.

"Good night," he said to Tim.

"Wait, what?" Jason’s eyes widened.

"What do you mean?"

"You’re going to sleep?"

"What else am I going to do?" Tim asked.

"But—" It just got so good.

Tim grinned and took Jason’s hand. "Just be a bit patient," he said. "Once the week is over, you can do anything you want to me."

Jason let out a cry. "You’re killing me, babybird," he complained and pressed a kiss against Tim’s lips.

  


Jason had no idea how anyone even would agree to this study.

He finally had Tim and they were finally dating but he couldn’t touch him. He could touch him, there were so many kisses they’ve exchanged since that day, but before it could lead to something more, Tim always pushed him away, reminding him it wasn’t over yet.

It was hell.

Especially when you slept so close to your roommate. Sometimes Jason just wanted to say 'fuck it let’s drop the study but Stephanie, Harper, and Cass counted on them and Tim was close to them. Jason guessed, Tim felt guilty for lying to them in the beginning and thought he’d at least have to agree to the few time they had left.

Jason tried to distract himself but it was hard when Tim was always right there. When he walked around in shorts that exposed his legs so perfectly. Pale, yes, but Jason had noticed how toned they were and how easy it would probably be to put marks and visible bites in the inside of them.

It was getting warmer, so Tim brought them ice cream often and he liked popsicles which, Jason actually preferred as well, but it was horrible. Tim didn’t know what he was doing to Jason when he was sucking on the tip of the popsicle, let his tongue twirl around it. He didn’t know how beautiful pink his lips looked around it and how hot it was when he licked his lips to get the sweet taste of it.

And he didn’t know how hot it was when he put on his glasses when he was studying and his hair into a little pony tail, exposing his neck more. And there, right there, was the little faint mark that was slowly fading that Jason had put on. He wanted to mark Tim up even more.

He wanted to do so many things with him but he couldn’t.

God, Jason really was like a horny teenager.

* * *

  


"I should concentrate on studying," Jason explained. "But I can’t. Because Tim’s right there."

"I thought you study at the library," Eddie said.

"I do," Jason said. "But I can’t— I can’t avoid him the whole day. He’s still my boyfriend."

Rose grinned widely, breathing out the smoke in Jason’s face. "I think you’re adorable for still sticking to the stupid study. I couldn’t do it."

"Have you ever got him high?" Roy asked and took the joint Rose handed him.

Jason shook his head. "No," he said. "He didn’t like it the last time he saw us smoking, remember?" He looked at Rose.

"Yeah, he was pretty pissed."

"But wasn’t that because you were smoking in your room and he thought you two were fucking?" Roy pointed out.

Which was ridiculous. Jason and Rose would never. Yes, she was attractive and tempting, but they were a bit too alike for his taste. Opposites do attract, he guessed. And Tim… he was totally his taste. From the moment he saw him.

"I still am the only one who had never met him," Eddie complained.

The door to Roy’s place opened and Dick stepped in. He made a face. "Really? I’m a police officer," he said.

"Hey." Roy brought Dick’s head down by pulling on his collar and kissed his boyfriend a bit too long and intense. Roy was really into PDA and touching Dick when he was high. Paired with Dick, who never minded PDA, it was bad. Jason now noticed Tim standing behind Dick.

"Tim!" he shouted.

"Tim?" Eddie exhaled. "That’s him? AirPods guy?"

Tim stared at Eddie and then to Jason. " _AirPods guy_? Really?"

Jason chuckled uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. "It’s a running gag, I guess," he said.

"Cass also has AirPods," Tim pointed out.

"And her dad’s super rich as well." Jason glanced over to Roy who was currently trying to pull Dick into his lap. He cleared his throat. "Guys."

Dick blushed and stood up. "Sorry," he said.

"I’m Eddie Bloomberg," Eddie introduced himself. "Jason told me so much about you."

Tim grinned. "Not good things I assume."

Jason hesitated. "I mean, a few were good," he admitted. "I’ve spent more time hating you now than liking you."

Tim laughed and shook his head. "It’s okay."

Jason stared down at the joint that he didn’t notice had got into his hand, then to Rose, and back to Tim. "This isn’t—"

"It’s fine," Tim assured him. "You know why I minded it the last time."

"It’s not!" Dick said. "I’m a cop. Couldn’t you at least pretend you care?"

Rose shrugged. "Roy didn’t know you were going to be home."

"Yeah, I thought you and Tim wanted to watch a movie."

"We did but the theater was closed for the day," Dick explained. "Some equipment got broken or something."

Jason looked at Tim. He had changed a lot over the last few weeks. He looked healthier now, happier as well. He had Dick, Stephanie, Cass, Harper, Duke, and… and Jason. He hoped Tim really was happy.

"Do you want to join us?" Rose asked.

"No!" Dick said. "He’s too young."

"I’m eighteen," Tim said. "I turn nineteen soon."

"For me, you’ll always be the ten year-old-boy," Dick explained and Tim blushed. Jason wished he would’ve known ten Tim as well. He was sure he was super cute back then. He made a mental note to ask Dick or Tim for pictures later.

"See? He’s about my age," Rose said.

"No," Dick repeated. "Come, Tim. Let’s get out of here."

Roy whimpered and Dick kissed him one last time before they left. Eddie turned to Jason.

"So that was AirPods guy," he whispered. "It’s like I just met a legend."

Rose erupted in laughter.

* * *

  


It was over, finally.

Jason was waiting in their room because Tim was still talking to Harper and told Jason he could go come earlier if he wanted to. That was okay. He had enough time to prepare. It also made him really nervous, walking up and down their room. They didn’t explicitly say they’d fuck right after it was over but…

The door opened and Tim smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hey." Jason awkwardly shuffled his feet. "Uh…"

Tim walked over to him and kissed him deeply. He was so short, so he had to go on his tip toes and Jason leaned down to make it easier for his boyfriend. "I’m surprised there was no box to check off that said 'it makes me want to claw the clothes off my partner'," Tim joked.

Jason stared at him before he started to laugh. "Would you have checked it?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

Jason cleared his throat. "So, are we— I mean."

Tim blushed. "If you want to?"

"God, I do." Jason picked him up to which Tim let out a surprised gasp. He immediately held himself close to Jason’s body by hooking his legs around Jason’s hips and curling his arms around Jason’s neck. Jason placed Tim on his bed backward. "I’ve wanted this for so long."

"How long?" Tim asked him with wide eyes.

"Honestly? Since the day I met you," Jason confessed. "But then it died down. And now it’s back again. It was so bad to resist touching you, babybird."

"You could’ve touched me," Tim whispered and touched Jason’s cheek.

"I know. But it wasn’t enough. You’re so tempting. Do you know what those shorts do to me?"

Tim bit down on his lower lip and grinned. "I do."

"Wait— what?"

"I did it on purpose."

"The popsicles?"

"That too. What kind of weirdo eats a popsicle like that?" Tim asked. Jason let out a cry.

"I hate you."

Tim giggled.

"You’re really the devil."

Tim brought Jason’s face closer to his and kissed him. This time, Jason didn’t have to hold back. He kissed Tim back hard, and before he knew it the two of them were clawing each other’s clothes off of their body. They struggled a bit with their pants (mostly Jason’s), but it was okay.

The way they stopped and looked at each other and laughed, those little moments was what warmed something inside Jason’s chest. God, he liked him so much. He never would’ve expected a month ago that he was now head over heels for Tim.

"You’re so beautiful," Jason breathed against Tim’s ear when he was undressed to his underwear, sprawled on Jason’s bed.

Tim inhaled sharply. "You too," he whispered.

They exchanged more kisses but Jason was getting impatient. Luckily for him, Tim seemed to get impatient too. He pushed Jason down and climbed on top of him and, wow. This image was even better than he imagined. Tim pressed his palm on Jason’s chest, holding him down. With the other hand, he pushed his hair out of his face that was falling in strands into it and it was so fucking hot. Even more so because Tim was grinding against him and Jason was unmistakably hard.

"Fuck," he cursed. "You’re so perfect."

"I know I’m not," Tim said. "I remember a certain one ranting about me and my AirPods."

Jason groaned. "No AirPod talk in bed. It’s a rule now."

Tim grinned, lifted himself up and pushed down his briefs. Jason was biting on his lower lip, as he watched his boyfriend get the last bit of clothing between them off, first his and then Jason’s.

"How do you want to do it?" Jason asked him.

Tim stared at him, pupils dilated. "I’m fine with anything," he said. "Part of tempting you over the last week was hoping you’d just push me down and have your way with me out of frustration."

Yeah, Tim was really the devil. Jason swallowed hard. "You’d want that?"

Tim nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Jason sat up and their position changed again. "Okay," he said.

He was finally able to do everything he wanted to Tim, and yes, he did. Left kisses all over Tim’s body, mark him up, from the space between his neck and shoulder, to his collarbone, to the inside of his thighs.

He was teasing Tim and they both knew it. Tim was letting out the most beautiful sounds as well, so needy, and Jason liked how hard he was trying to not let them out, clasping his hand over his beautiful mouth but still wasn’t able to do so. Not when Jason was sucking him off.

He didn’t remember the last time he put so much effort into sucking someone off. But this was Tim, and Jason wanted Tim to scream his name and feel nothing but absolute bliss.

"Jay," Tim cried out, his hand tangled in Jason’s hair. "Please—"

"Please what?" Jason asked, pulling back but still having his hand curled at the base of Tim’s cock.

"Fuck me," Tim pleaded.

Jason smirked, moved his hand up, pressed his thumb against the slit and Tim moaned quietly.

"Please, Jay. Don’t be such a tease."

"You love it."

Tim glared at him. "I prepared myself even, you know? Just get over it."

He was getting impatient but so was Jason actually. It was hard when your boyfriend was so beautiful when he was moaning your name, squirming under your touched and so close to coming. Jason took the bottle of lube from his bedside table and spread a generous amount on his fingers. When he pushed a finger in, he noticed that Tim really had prepared himself.

"Next time," he said, "don’t do it. I like to do it myself."

Tim blushed. "I was impatient."

Jason kissed him and moved his finger inside Tim, adding another. Tim was by now moving against his fingers.

"Shit," Jason cursed. "Look at yourself. So needy, fucking yourself on my fingers."

Tim let out a small cry. God, he could probably make Jason come untouched like this. "Jay," he sighed. "Please. Please, I need you."

"Patience, babybird."

"We both have been patient for way too long."

Jason added another finger and moved them. When he found the right spot, Tim threw his head back and gasped.

"Jay— please. Fuck me. I want to come with you in me," Tim said.

Jason cursed again under his breath but when Tim was looking at him like this, he couldn’t say no. He pulled his finger out and grabbed a condom (yes, he really prepared as well), and put it on quickly. He had never wanted this more, he never remembered a time when he had wanted to be inside someone so badly. But this was Tim. And he was Jason’s first love.

"Are you—"

"Jason, just get it on with," Tim cried.

Jason grinned, pushed Tim’s legs further apart and aligned himself against Tim’s entrance. The boy was pushing against Jason’s cock. He never would’ve thought Tim was this needy but he had worked him pretty well.

"Ssh," Jason whispered. "I got you, babybird." He pushed in slowly, not completely yet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tim said and breathed out. He tried to relax, Jason noticed. He stroked the inside of Tim’s thighs and moved further.

"You’re doing so well," Jason praised him. "Taking all of me in. I wish you could see yourself. So, so, beautiful."

Tim gasped. "Jay…"

"I mean it," Jason placed a kiss on Tim’s knee. "You’re quite literally the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen."

Tim blushed hard and hid his face in the crook of his elbow. "Flattery gets you nowhere."

"It kind of got me here balls deep in you."

"I hate you. You can move."

Jason did. Tim felt amazing, so tight and hot around Jason’s cock. He whispered sweet words to Tim, as he continued to move in him, slowly at first until his thrusts picked up a faster pace. Tim pulled him closer, and Jason let out a groan.

"Oh god," Tim moaned. "Do that again."

"You mean this?” Jason grinned and he did, he hit the spot he met again and his thrusts get faster. Tim threw his arms and legs around him. He was throwing his head back, and this time, he wasn’t even trying to hold his voice in. It was like he forgot they were still in the dorms and people lived right next to them, but that was fine by Jason. Watching Tim come undone and letting himself go, be it outside with friends, or right here underneath Jason as he fucked him, was one of the most satisfying things.

"Jay!” he screamed. "Oh god, fuck- Fuck.”

Tim’s words become a mess and nonsense. Jason didn’t even know what he was saying, but he guessed he was feeling good. And Jason was as well— he was so close already. He gripped Tim’s hips tighter with one hand and with the other he touched Tim’s cock. It was still slick, and Jason felt that it really didn’t take long for Tim to come.

Jason moved his hand and leaned down to kiss Tim. It’s all messy, not a proper kiss because they were both panting against each other’s lips but it was still so good.

"Jay, I’m—" Tim gripped into his sheets.

"Yeah, babybird, come for me,” Jason moaned and when Tim came, Jason still thrust into him. A few more thrusts and he comes all over him too.

Jason pulled out and took off the condom, tied it and threw it in the bin. He lied down next to Tim, who was breathing heavily. He watched the way Tim’s chest moved up and down and Jason smiled.

"So," he said. "We finally did it, huh?"

Then, someone kicked a few times against a wall. "Some of us have to study!" their neighbor shouted.

Jason and Tim stared at each other. Tim was blushing hard. "I have to move out," he said quietly and Jason laughed.

"No," he said. "That was Jaime Reyes. I’m sure he’s just sad he doesn’t have someone."

"Jason, I’m serious. Oh god." Tim buried his face in Jason’s chest.

Jason put his arms around his boyfriend. "Well, I love your voice," he said and kissed the top of Tim’s head.

"I like yours too. But you already knew."

"Yeah, I did."

Tim breathed out and moved away again so that they could look into each other’s eyes. He really was beautiful, Jason thought. Inside and outside. Even if still a bit messy, but he was working on it.

"By the way," Jason said, "Kyle wants to meet you."

Tim’s face darkened.

"What? Do you not want to?"

"Nothing. It’s just…" Tim sighed. "He’s your former roommate. And you always used to compare me to him. It felt really shitty. I’m sure he’s nice and all but…"

"Oh. I’m sorry." Jason played with Tim’s hair. "Don’t worry. He’s not you."

"Obviously."

"No, you’re better. I never fucked Kyle." Tim rolled his eyes. "No, I’m serious. You’re… you’re different. From _everyone_."

"Cheesy," Tim whispered.

"Yeah, don’t let anyone know I am. I have a reputation to uphold," Jason said and kissed him again deeply.

* * *

 

Tim sighed. "Okay, what’s up?"

"What do you mean what’s up?" Jason asked as he stared at the mirror in the elevator.

"You’re behaving weirdly. And Steph and co as well. I’m not blind," Tim said. "Something’s up. You’re up to something, all of you. And I don’t know what."

Jason shook his head. "I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said.

"It’s not my birthday. You know it’s not my birthday yet, right? My birthday’s in July," Tim said. "Is it an end of the semester party? But why be secretive around me?"

Jason sighed. "Tim, stop using your detective brain so much. There’s nothing." That was absolutely a lie and Jason knew Tim didn’t believe him. His boyfriend sighed and Jason pressed a kiss against Tim’s forehead.

"Come." He took his hand and pulled him out of the elevator when they arrived at the 9th floor, where Stephanie and Cass’ place was.

"It’s not my birthday," Tim repeated.

Jason rolled his eyes and knocked against the door. It opened and there was a blond girl. Not Stephanie, another blond girl. Taller with big bright read star earrings. Tim dropped Jason’s hand.

"Cassie?!"

"Surprise!" she shouted. Before he could pull her in a hug, she took his hand and dragged him alongside her further into the place.

"Wait— Kon? Bart?" Tim shouted.

Tim’s friends all fell over him and they pulled into a group hug. So, these were Tim’s best friends. His family. He looked over to Stephanie who was smiling just as widely.

"What are you doing here?" Tim asked. He was close to tears, Jason noticed. His heart tightened as he saw Tim like this. He was so happy for him. He’s been through so much the past few months, it must’ve been rough to be the only one away from his friends.

"We’re paying you a surprise visit," Kon explained. He was the biggest of them, shorter than Jason, but broad. "And I reached out to Cass." He looked over to the girl who winked at him.

"I’m glad you’re here," Cass said.

They weren’t the only ones here. It was a big party, just with the addition that Tim’s friends were here as well.

"Blond girl is hot," Rose whispered to Jason.

Jason laughed. "And she lives far away," he added. Rose pursed his lips and shrugged.

"So?"

* * *

 

Tim spent most of the night catching up with his friends. Jason didn’t mind, he was sure they had a lot to talk about. He got to know them too. They seemed nice enough and made Tim smile. Bart was a little bit too much, but the rest of them were all okay, though Kon was a bit distant. Rose and Cassie were now shouting at each other while playing Mario Kart drunk.

Jason spent the time with Duke and another guy named Luke.

At some point, though, Tim stole him away from everyone else and they went outside on the balcony for some fresh air. From here, Tim could see the faint shadow of Harper and Bette making out through the window next to them.

"I can’t believe it," Tim said.

"What, that they’re here?"

"No, I mean everything. It’s like the first semester was a whole rollercoaster for me," he explained.

Jason laughed. "Yeah." He put his arm around Tim and pulled him closer to his body. "I’m glad."

"Me too." Tim leaned against him, head resting against Jason’s shoulder. He was too short to rest it on his shoulder.

"I think Kon doesn’t like me."

"He does. He just… listened to me complain about you a lot," Tim said. Jason blinked.

"What?"

"Hey, my friends don’t call you AirPods guy. I think I was way nicer when I complained about you," Tim defended himself. Jason chuckled.

"Fine. Did I at least get another cool name?"

"No."

"Ouch."

Tim turned to him and his eyes lit up in the darkness. "I gave Bart my AirPods," he said. "He was pretty happy about them."

"You gave your AirPods away. For me. That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me," Jason choked out. They both burst out in laughter.

"You’re so stupid," Tim teased.

"Yeah, but you love me."

As soon as the words were out, Jason couldn’t take them back anymore. Tim swallowed hard.

"I do," he said.

Jason was melting. "Me too," he confessed. "I love you too."

And this is where 'Happy End' would be embedded in the night sky as the camera panned away from the two lovebirds kissing if this was a romance movie. But it wasn’t and that was okay as well. It was just the start, after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to put every single one of my fav tropes in this as i was possible (enemies to friends to lovers, fake dating, roommate, bed-sharing, college AU).


End file.
